Honourable Prime Minister Manmohan;
Honourable Ministers of Science and Technology of India and Zimbabwe;
Professor Hassan;
Members of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS);
Members of the press;
Ladies and Gentlemen
I’m pleased to have the opportunity to attend this TWAS conference and to contribute to the debates and emerging solutions.
TWAS draws together scientists from the South and provides an opportunity for them to engage on the critical challenges that confront our rapidly changing world. It’s a forum in which policy makers and scientists can jointly arrive at responses that advance a progressive development agenda for the South.
We are fully aware that not all research activity is, or should be, oriented toward societal problem solving or development. However, the wide spectrum of challenges caused by disease, poverty and our impact on the environment, do require us to directly seek researcher-policy-maker links that may lead to the resolution of our most intractable challenges.
TWAS should not be reticent in engaging policy matters and in seeking to advise ministers and governments on appropriate responses to today’s complex issues.
Barriers to partnerships
Let me begin by saying a few words about the complexities of South-South partnerships in the context of academic and other forms of globalisation.
Studies show that the international mobility of scientists and students has increased significantly over the past 10 to 15 years.
There are now more opportunities than before for establishing credible South-South research partnerships.
Africa’s outbound migration of students and professionals has some benefits in creating networks favourable to Africa, and also sharing knowledge about Africa with others around the world.
But if we are to derive value from this increased exsite2016 we will need to give attention to how we use these new links for enhancing human capital development in the South.
Just this very short visit to Hyderabad shows clear evidence of the success that India has enjoyed from a conscious and sustained strategy to attract top scientists of Indian origin to join in the resurgence of science, technology and innovation in India.
In South Africa we have begun to address this challenge through our Research Chairs programme.
Some of these chairs have been awarded in astronomy so as to support the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). This project has already been a significant factor in attracting experienced researchers, developing new fields of study and enthusing young scientists to remain in the sciences.
Initiatives like SKA achieve these benefits because they locate exciting and globally significant science and innovation in the South, and thus facilitate new global links and partnerships for the South in the mainstream of global scientific endeavours.
One of the difficulties we still face in Africa is the legacy of inadequate investment in higher education. We need to enhance our performance in key academic output criteria such as publications, patents, innovation and expanded number of post graduate students in the sciences. We believe that increased linkages between higher education institutions in the South, with a focused regional platform, can lay the foundation for expanded access and higher levels of research collaboration.
African Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) links
These suggestions for making more effective use of our research development opportunities have important implications for science academies and for governments of the South.
Success will require efficient planning, coordination, and resourcing. Our science academies will have to become dynamic actors for the advancement of science and move beyond being a network that meets infrequently to provide opportunities for individual scientists to catch up with colleagues internationally.
Africa’s record in scientific research, technology development and innovation compels us to consider new approaches and new partnerships.
A number of attempts are already underway in Africa to improve STI performance. African science ministers have agreed that regional economic bodies should be the catalyst for action. As African ministers, we have crafted a strategy but we still lack the human capacity and scientific infrastructure to give effect to our plans.
Great potential for advancement exists if we pursue links with countries that are achieving success – India, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia, and, in some scientific areas, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Links between established systems and emerging systems, based on a carefully crafted strategy can support positive outcomes.
One of the more significant developments in this attempt at coherent coordination is the work done by the African Union on developing a quality focused qualifications framework for Africa, and the AU support for a range of STI based initiatives.
African ministers for science and technology have also committed to drive the S&T agenda on the continent as outlined in the African Union’s “Consolidated Science and Technology Plan of Action for 2006-2010”, which constitutes a blueprint for African S&T development.
African leaders have reiterated the importance of S&T to the continent’s development, and committed themselves to increase their investment in science and technology to at least 1% of GDP.
Despite this target, science and technology are not yet fully adopted in the development policies of many African states. Support from the African Union must be the way to address this problem.
By contrast, TWAS in 2008 (on the occasion of its 25th anniversary) called on governments from developing countries to adopt science and technology in public policies, take steps to reduce the brain drain, and encourage private investment in research and development. This is an important matter and S&T ministers in Africa are working hard to attend to this call.
For example, the Africa Union Commission, NEPAD Office of Science and Technology and some member states have initiated a number of new STI initiatives such as the African Union Scientific Awards, which include the AU/TWAS Young Scientist National Awards, the Regional Women Scientific Award, and the Continental Awards.
The SADC region has established four NEPAD flagship projects, namely the Southern African Biosciences Network (SANBio), African Laser Centre (ALC), African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), and the Water Flagship most recently. A number of member states such as Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and South Africa are hosting the hubs and centres of excellence for these flagships.
In Africa we are in the early stages of developing our scientific academies. The continent has 12 national science academies (in Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) and one continental entity, the African Academy of Sciences.
A concerted continental effort is required to generate youth interest in science and technology.
If we are to build a pyramid of scientific capacity in our universities and academies, then the base of the pyramid has to be built in our schools. We cannot have more doctoral students, if we do not increase the number of school leavers with basic mathematics and science skills and abilities. We need to shape the global commitment to improving basic education in Africa so that we are able to offer better opportunities to all our children.
SA programmes
South African research into astronomy and the cosmos has made South Africa a respected partner in world research.
South Africa has a unique comparative geographical advantage in astronomy that makes it the ideal place to host global facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio astronomy facility.
Currently, the continent does not host many major global research infrastructures. Locating projects such as the SKA in Africa will strengthen the continent’s inclusion into the global scientific community.
The Square Kilometre Array is one of the great scientific projects of the 21st century. It is a new generation radio telescope that will be 50 times more sensitive than any of the existing radio telescopes currently in operation around the world.
South Africa is one of two potential hosts for the Square Kilometre Array.
We are very grateful for the support that we continue to receive from our African and other partners. They have set up an SKA Consortium, embracing business and industry.
The SKA is an iconic project for world science. It brings together groundbreaking science with cutting-edge technological innovations.
BRICs and the opportunity for accelerated development
The future potential of the BRIC countries has been much in the news of late. The South African President has spent considerable time and effort with the BRIC countries over the past year and there are many who think that South Africa is ready to join this select group.
The changing world economy means that South Africa is intensifying trade ties with the BRIC countries.
We are not looking simply for more trade with the big emerging nations, but for ways in which we can develop together by finding areas in which we complement gaps in each other’s economies.
This resonates with the objectives of the emerging partnership between India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) where the identification of research themes has been informed by each country’s unique research strengths and strategic advantages to address development challenges shared by three partners.
Take for example our agreement over a trilateral space programme. The programme will involve two satellites, one for Earth observation and the other for space weather and climate studies.
The space weather satellite will be the first to be built and is planned to be ready for launch two years from now.
South Africa will provide the satellite bus for this spacecraft, while most of the instruments to be mounted on the bus will be provided by Brazil. Both satellites will be launched by India, the only one of the IBSA countries to have the capability to launch satellites at the moment.
These initiatives form part of our commitment to ensure that we build South-South relationships that will enhance development and create the intellectual capacity that is necessary for sustained economic growth and human security
TWAS and the nationally based academies of science have an important role to play in making this a reality.
Thank you.
